Man accused of shooting at 5 youths in Mount Prospect ordered held without bail
A 26-year-old man charged in what authorities say was a gang-related shooting last October in Mount Prospect was ordered held without bail Tuesday.
Christian Longsworth, whose address was not given, is charged with attempted first-degree murder in the Oct. 18 shooting near Aspen Drive and Aztec Lane. The charge is punishable by up to 30 years in prison if he is convicted.
According to prosecutors, five youngsters ages 10 to 17 had left a Mount Prospect park where they had been playing basketball at 8:24 p.m. when another group approached. Members of the second group yelled gang-related slurs and began shooting at the youngsters, authorities say.
A 15-year-old boy was shot near his groin and was treated at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.
None of the victims were able to identify the assailants, Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Aldina Vulic said, but a nearby surveillance camera captured people exiting a vehicle and approaching them. Gunshots and voices could be heard on the video, which showed people leaving the scene in a light-colored sedan.
Officers from the Mount Prospect and Prospect Heights police departments, who Vulic said "have had significant contact with the defendant," recognized Longsworth's voice from the video.
About 9:18 p.m. Oct. 18, police learned of an accident involving a vehicle matching the description of the sedan, Vulic said. The crash occurred in Wheeling, about four miles from the shooting, she said.
The occupants fled the vehicle, which authorities say is owned by the father of Longsworth's friend. The owner later told police he believed his son had the car that night, Vulic said.
From the shooting scene, police recovered two .380-caliber bullet casings and 11 9-millimeter casings, Vulic said. Police later determined some of the casings found at the shooting scene were fired from a weapon Longsworth had when he was arrested on unrelated charges Oct. 24 in Des Plaines, authorities said.
Analysis of the data from Longsworth's phone indicates it was near the site of the shooting and crash at the time of those events, Vulic said. Cellphone analysis also revealed several messages, Vulic said, including one sent Oct. 23 by the defendant "indicating he is in trouble with the police" with a link to a Daily Herald article about the shooting.
Longsworth has previous convictions for aggravated fleeing and eluding from 2020 and 2019, as well as a 2015 aggravated robbery conviction. He also has cases pending on charges of unlawful use of a weapon fleeing and eluding, prosecutors said.
He is scheduled to return to court March 3.